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Thread: red-necked phalarope with pink sea thrift

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    Default red-necked phalarope with pink sea thrift

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    I believe this is a breeding female taken last July in Iceland along with Gail B. On this island above the cliffs I was lying in the grass and wildflowers and within minutes bout 6 or 7 phalaropes approached. Most of the time i had too much reach but what a delight to walk about with this rig. This is a full frame no crop... I was hoping for a cleaner shot of the bird but I was both to close and the grass and flowers a bit deep. I tamed the white throat patch as it was not blown but looked hot. This was taken when the sun popped out for a short while and the harsh light also gave a contrast punch... No cloning, only brightened the eye. Like all of us that have curtailed travel, it is bittersweet to review old images and hold on to hope that we can return next summer.

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Ann:

    Very painterly effect from the low angle and soft/blurred areas. Excellent head angle.

    I might consider toning down the purple/pink clump behind and above the tail, just a bit. There is enough mass there that it does pull the eye a bit.

    In a perfect world, would have preferred the bird to be a bit more parallel to the sensor, so that the tail was also sharp, but that is minor, and if our eye isn't drawn towards the purple clump back in that area, perhaps it would be less noticeable

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    Avian Moderator Brian Sump's Avatar
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    Ann, beautiful frame. These are lovely birds anyway but the hints of pink do wonders and the gradient to the rich blue sky is great. Bird looks sharp and the gaze in its eye really jumps out.

    Might have hoped we'd get a little more room below (to convey the feet). Perhaps I am also picking up a little bit of a blue/cyan hue on the bird, esp in the shadows and whites, but it's just faint.

    Well done as usual, thanks for sharing!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Sump View Post
    Ann, beautiful frame. These are lovely birds anyway but the hints of pink do wonders and the gradient to the rich blue sky is great. Bird looks sharp and the gaze in its eye really jumps out.

    Might have hoped we'd get a little more room below (to convey the feet). Perhaps I am also picking up a little bit of a blue/cyan hue on the bird, esp in the shadows and whites, but it's just faint.

    Well done as usual, thanks for sharing!
    Thank you Brian, full frame, they were close to walking over me! Any suggestions on how i could address the color casts that you mentioned. I'm not skilled in that area... Thank you, basic to start is good.

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    Avian Moderator Brian Sump's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by annmpacheco View Post
    Thank you Brian, full frame, they were close to walking over me! Any suggestions on how i could address the color casts that you mentioned. I'm not skilled in that area... Thank you, basic to start is good.
    Oh sure. One method is in Lightroom, scroll down to the HSL/Color palette, select the cyan circle and start moving the saturation slider. Only problem is that is a global (whole image) edit.

    A better way is in PS, to mask the bird if not already done, select the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, then in the pull down where it says master, select cyan and then move saturation slider to the left until they start fading. You can try the same with the blue adjustment in the pull down. Hope that helps.

    PS, you may not need to mask the bird. You can try globally first in PS but probably best practice to leave the landscape as is unless you notice a weird hue there too.

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    Hi Ann. I really like this just as it is, but I do agree with toning down the pinks a little. The bird's body does seem a little soft to me. I actually like how the flora is blending in to the bird...it does have a "painterly" feel about it, which I really like.
    In case you're interested, I use Zone System Express, by Blake Rudis. It's great for adjusting specific tones and colours (although the latest Camera Raw works well too) as well as a host of other adjustments you can do. I love it! Great to see your photos taken with the Nikon rig...I'm loving mine...and yes, sometimes you can be too close...I can live with that...lol

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    Love the intimate POV and the framing overall. You know I always love a touch of the environment and the pink just adds for me. A beautiful bird I'd love to see, let alone create as wonderful image as this. TFS

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    Hi Ann, beautiful bird, lovely setting to find it in. From your description maybe a little higher might have been better. Thank you for sharing.
    Last edited by Joseph Przybyla; 08-29-2020 at 01:51 PM.
    Joe Przybyla

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    Love the setting with those flowers. Spot on low angle. The blue and green background go great together. You handled the light very well.

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    BPN Member William Dickson's Avatar
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    Very nice Ann...A BG and FG to die for. In fact, if you had been further away, I would have loved to see more of that BG. Fab detail on the bird with a nice pose.. Great colours throughout. The eye and facial expression takes it up a notch. Good work.

    Will

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    Thank you all for your suggestions, will give them a try.

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